ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Friday night urged Dominicans to put aside their differences and get involved in the reconstruction of the island that has been battered by Tropical Storm Erika, leaving at least 20 people dead and many more missing and feared dead.

“My heart and soul grieve for you. Of greatest concern however is the loss of life. So far we can confirm that at least 20 citizens have died, and some are missing. This is heart wrenching. I give you my pledge that we shall not cease until contact is made with every community and a full account is given of every single missing person,” Skerrit said in a radio and television broadcast on Friday night.

Works and Communication Minister Ian Pinnard had said on Friday that 14 bodies had been recovered from the south-eastern village of Petite Savanne and that as much as 25 others were missing. There were also reports of deaths in Bath Estate, just on the outskirts of the capital as well as Grand Fond, a small fishing farming community located on the island’s east coast.

Skerrit said that the damages to roads and infrastructure had pushed back the country more than 20 years and that he was inviting all 21 elected legislators to meet on Saturday to discuss the rebuilding process.

“We have experienced national disasters on many occasions during the last 400 years of our history. The lessons we have learnt from that experience is that when we pull together as one nation, nothing can stop us.

“I therefore want your assistance in making the national response to this disaster a new beginning for dominica”, to pull the nation out of the sluggish recession that started in 2008. Let us consider this disaster as a test of our ability to respond collectively, patriotically and imaginatively to the peculiar challenges of globalization and climate change that have been intensifying since the start of the 21st century,” said Skerrit.

He urged citizens to treat the devastation of Tropical Storm Erika as a “wake-up call to do things differently.

“My dear people, this has been a long, physically and mentally taxing day for all of us. Let us reaffirm our faith in Almighty God. He has promised never to give us more than we can bear. I am confident that Almighty God has a plan for Dominica.

“Let us be strong in our faith and let us demonstrate brotherly and sisterly love, one for the other. I shall continue assessments and we shall intensify efforts, with the help of friends from abroad, to relieve the suffering of Dominicans.

“Rest assured, my brothers and sisters, you are not alone in your period of mourning; in your period of pain, in your period of suffering and anxiety. We are in this together and help is coming your way,” Skerrit said in his broadcast.